"I must go deliver message Great Khan," Twenty Quivers patted his tunic pocket. "You go with Bayarmaa. I see all tonight. We talk then for magic."
The Fernlanders looked at one another with alarm. Were they to put on a magic show here in the desert for hundreds of thousands?
Bayarmaa was already pulling on Take's reins. Her grandchildren were laughing and singing as they led the Fernlanders down the dune.
Chapter 28
Barburee
Take and the other Fernland men attempted to help as the women erected their large round tent. It was quite obvious that the women needed no help but they seemed highly entertained by the Fernlanders' attempts. The two little girls were rolling on the ground, laughing at Bear, who had become entangled in the tent's felt covering. Bayarmaa shouted at her granddaughters but her shouting did nothing to still their giggling.
Bear, finally freed from the felt covering, smiled at the two little girls, then hiked up his shoulders and arms, growling ferociously. The two girls stopped, frozen for a second, then saw the twinkle in his eyes and jumped up and down, laughing and pointing. Bayarmaa ordered the girls out of the tent with a gesture, but they continued to peek through to keep a watch on Bear.
"Look there, those wee gals can't take their eyes off of ya," Smiles said, poking Bear in the arm.
Bear blushed. "Ya mean them two what's cute as buttons?"
"Show 'em a magic trick, why don't ya?"
Bear took out a little wooden doll he had whittled from a stick. "Get me them magnet rocks Take has in 'is pocket," Bear said to Smiles.
Smiles went outside the tent to find Take. He saw him coming from the lake with a pail of water which he set down for his horse.
"Bear wants ta borrow them magnet rocks ya showed us. He's gonna do a trick fer the little girls."
"A trick? I want to see this for myself." Take found the two stones and followed Smiles inside the tent.
Bear took the two stones, and walked to the edge of the tent with his back to the girls. He tied the little wooden doll to one of the stones with a piece of thread. Then he went back to the center of the tent where he sat down and pulled a piece of felt tight across his knees. He put the second stone in his left hand and hid it under the piece of felt. He beckoned to the girls with his right hand, holding the little wooden doll. The girls raced in, curious and excited. Bear put the little wooden doll which was tied to the stone on top of the tightly stretched felt and took his hand away. The little doll sat their on its flat magnetic stone. The women stopped their work to see what Bear was up to.
They all looked at the little wooden doll. Slowly, she began to move across the piece of felt. The girls cried out and ran to hide behind their mothers. The women stared at the little doll that moved all by herself in little circles around the felt. No one dared to breathe. Bear smiled with a smug expression.
"Good one," Take said, clapping his hands.
The women watched Take and they began to clap as well. The little girls came out from behind their mothers' skirts and stood close to Bear. One reached out to touch the wooden doll and the doll moved suddenly across the felt. The girls screamed and hid behind their mothers.
Bear laughed heartily and removed the piece of felt so that all could see the stone beneath that moved the stone and doll above. He showed how the stones clung together. The women all examined the stones and gradually relaxed a little, but they still cast suspicious glances at Bear now and then. The two little girls refused to leave Bear's side, both insisting that they be allowed to hold one of his hands.
The Fernland men went outside the tent to leave the women to their work. They watched with fascination the wonder of setting up camp for a country of nomads. They had stopped just outside a small oasis. The huge army would have quickly overwhelmed the limited water resources supplied by a desert spring, so they camped a little away and went to the spring in small groups, allowing time for the flow of water to replenish itself between groups. The women went first, to bring water for cooking the evening meal. Smoke from a thousand campfires rose from openings in the great round tents. The smell of roasting meat filled the air.
A herd of sheep on its way to the oasis pushed by the Fernland men. Bear pulled the two little girls in close to keep them from being bowled over.
"Looks like you've got yourself a little family there, Bear," Take said.
"They won't let go me hands." The two girls kept a close watch, not wanting to miss anything astounding that Bear might do.
Bear pulled the girls back toward the tent as a string of camels walked by, swaying under the weight of their packs.
"What's become a Muller the Spy and Hilgard?" Smiles asked.
"They took off as soon as we stopped to camp. Said they were going to gather information." Take smiled a wry smile and continued. "Be nice if they could maybe find out why we're here in Barburee."
"Could be we find out afore they do," Bear said. "Ain't that Twenty Quivers comin' our way?"
"And ain't that them there bandits tied in a string behind 'im?" Smiles added.
They all watched as Twenty Quivers and the bandits came in a line towards them. Twenty Quivers rode a horse and the bandits ran behind trying to keep up to avoid being dragged.
"I'd not want to be in the shoes of those bandits right now." Take shook his head as he spoke.
"Why's he bringin' 'em here?" Smiles asked.
"May hap he wants us ta make 'em disappear," Bears looked pleased with his joke.
Twenty Quivers dismounted when he saw the Fernland men and waved them closer.
"We find bad men." He nodded toward his prisoners. "You want kill?"
The three magicians were horrified by Twenty Quiver's question. From the expression on the ambassador's face, they gathered he was making the offer as a courtesy to them.
"No," Take said, wondering about the alternative. "It was your goods they were attempting to steal, not ours. And it was your soldiers that caught them."
Bear and Smiles nodded their agreement.
"Ah..., what will ya do ta them?" Smiles asked.
Take and Bear glared at him. They did not want to know, as they feared the worst.
"I give bad men Great Khan. He maybe send out first next battle."
"Yes, the Great Khan's justice is best," Take said, hoping to close the subject.
Twenty Quivers looked at the two little girls, holding Bear's hands tightly. he said something to them in the Barburee tongue and both girls shook their heads defiantly. He took a step toward them and they both let go reluctantly and ran back to their tent.
"We have good to eat this night. Rest good. Tomorrow you do magic make good for explode arrows." Twenty Quivers mounted his horse and turned the line of prisoners around.
"What the...?" Bear was too much in shock to finish his sentence.
"Do magic make good for explode arrows," Take repeated. "What could that mean?"
"Whatever it means, I'm pretty sure we can't do it." Bear watched the departing Twenty Quivers as he broke into a trot and the prisoners ran to keep up.
"Explode arrows. Now there's a thing us magicians can get our teeth into. Right gents?" Smiles asked, his eyes shining with excitement.
Bear looked at his friend as if he were crazy.
"Well, now," Take said. "I guess we finally know why we're here. Make good for explode arrows. Can hardly wait to find out what that means." Take's worried expression did not match the enthusiasm of his words.
Chapter 29
Kingdom of Henge
Henge City basked in the sun of a clear spring morning. The water in the harbor sparkled with blue light. Sparsely peopled docks lined the area where water met land. Deep green grass covered the slope between the docks and the stone castle perched high up the hill overlooking the harbor. Outside the castle most of the populace of Henge had gathered to watch what promised to be a memorable event.
Officials, dignitari
es, guests and soldiers milled around the perimeters of Prince Blackwell's archery range. Five round white targets with black bull's-eyes had been set up at the end of the field. Soldiers intervened if anyone stepped too near the targets. If asked why, the soldiers replied, "Those are our orders."
Serafina spoke calmly to her father-in-law, Phinneas Blackwell.
"I believe I have the mixture of powders perfected. Today I am experimenting with different wick lengths.
The elder Blackwell was almost dancing with excitement as he listened to Serafina. He looked around for his son, Prince Blackwell. "Where has Ambrose got off to?"
Serafina spotted Prince Ambrose Blackwell across the field and quickly excused herself from Phinneas.
Prince Blackwell had grown tired of enduring a multitude of excited slaps on the back from his father. He had quietly escaped to the group of archers readying themselves for the day's exhibition. He held one of the tubes full of explosives that would soon be attached to one of the archers' arrows. It was a cylinder made of heavy paper, sealed on both ends. A small wick made of string hung out from one end. As he turned it to and fro, he saw movement at the corner of his eye and hoped it was not his father.
"There is some danger in handling the tubes," Serafina said as she neared her husband. "The powders are by their nature unstable. It is necessary to keep them enclosed until they hit their mark."
Prince Blackwell gingerly returned the tube of explosives to the archer. The archer sat down on the ground and began to tie the tube to an arrow with a piece of thread.
"How dangerous is it?" Prince Blackwell asked.
"Potentially, very. One of the powders is highly volatile when exposed to the air. Together, the three powders produce a gas that explodes on contact with a flame. The secret is to control the explosion. I have used small amounts of the powders, but there is no reason to expect that larger amounts would not work in the same way and result in larger explosions."
"I see," Prince Blackwell said, as he watched the archer tie the final knot, and break the thread. "I suppose we should join Father and begin the exhibition."
"As you will," Serafina seemed relieved to see Blackwell turn away from the explosives.
Prince Blackwell waved his hand in the air and the army officers in charge galloped along the borders of the archery field to move people away from the edges. The target areas were completely cleansed of people. The crowd grew quiet in anticipation. A trumpeter signaled the beginning of the spectacle. Prince Blackwell shouted.
"Archers at the ready!"
"What happens next?" Prince Blackwell whispered to Serafina.
"Light your wicks and let fly," she said.
"Light your wicks and let fly," Prince Blackwell shouted.
Soldiers with lit candles stood ready to light each wick in turn. The first soldier touched the candle's flame to the wick of the first archer's tube of explosives. The archer immediately sent the first arrow into the sky with lit tube attached.
The crowd gasped as the first arrow exploded with a sharp bang, halfway to its target. The second arrow exploded a little further down the field. The third exploded on impact with the target and tore the target to shreds. The fourth and fifth targets met similar fates.
Phinneas Blackwell hopped around joyfully on his peg leg, thumping his son on the back.
"We did it! We have it! Let those Barburee thieves show their faces here, they'll get a surprise." He lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "Son, we could take Fernland right now, before they catch on to how these exploding arrows work."
Prince Blackwell seemed lost in thought. Ignoring his father, he turned to Serafina, smiling.
"This is a wonderful gift you have given us. But now I want you to train soldiers to take over the testing. I see how potentially dangerous these explosives are. Had I known..." He seemed unable to finish. "You know nothing is more important to me than the safety of you and our child."
Serafina squeezed Prince Blackwell's hand and smiled at him. "As you will, M'Lord."
After speeches, handshakes and congratulations all round, the three Blackwells returned to the castle for a celebratory lunch. Spirits were high and Phinneas Blackwell scarcely touched his food, being too busy with enthusiastic plans to go to war with all his neighbors.
A messenger interrupted the lunch with a message for Serafina. She slit the wax seal with a fingernail, opened it and read silently.
Serafina,
I am here in Helsop with several envoys from Barburee. I believe they have designs on the port of Henge. I wish to dissuade them in this venture and have suggested that a powerful sorceress controls Henge's army. I have some feeble hope that, being superstitious, they might forego their attempt on Henge if they see this information to be true.
Dagon refuses to allow us to continue on to Henge, believing it to be too dangerous. He has also been prejudiced against them by a failed assassination attempt on his person. Bataar, the Great Khan's son, thought it a good idea to marry me to seal an alliance with Fernland, hence the need to be rid of my fiancé.
Any advice would be welcome. If you think my idea has merit, we would welcome a visit from you in your most frightening visage.
With affection,
Your Electra
Serafina smiled as she read Electra's message and then put it away in her pocket.
"Good news?" Prince Blackwell asked.
"Very. Electra would like me to visit her in Helsop."
"And will you go?"
"Of course," Serafina said. "I will leave at once."
Chapter 30
Barburee
The Fernland men turned down Twenty Quivers' offer to share his large tent for sleeping. They slept outside where they could talk without being overheard. Bear's two little girls had been quite disappointed when he left the tent. Bear suspected they had been planning something and resented having their plans foiled.
Muller the Spy and Hilgard had gathered tidbits of information. The army was headed south. Several towns and cities lay in their path. Most of the towns had already surrendered to the Great Khan's envoys. Hilgard's command of the Barburee tongue was improving, but he could shed no light on Twenty Quivers' cryptic message, 'make good for explode arrows'.
The Fernland men awoke the next morning to wonderful breakfast smells. Twenty Quivers grand daughters stood watching until Bear opened his eyes. They giggled as he pulled his blanket over his head and turned away. One of the girls nibbled on a piece of goat cheese, and pointed toward their tent. The men gradually made their way to Twenty Quivers' tent where a breakfast of meat filled dumplings, goats' cheese and barley mush awaited them. They dove in, grateful for the good food.
After breakfast Twenty Quivers cleared his throat.
"We go see explode arrows," he said.
The men followed him out of the tent. They walked through the ranks of family tents, some housing swordsmen and their families, some housing engineers and their families. They passed herds of sheep, groups of camels, horses everywhere. They kept a safe distance from the huge grey animals with the long, snakelike noses and sharp tusks. Hilgard asked Twenty Quivers the name of these animals.
"Zaan. Very strong." Twenty Quivers stuck his elbows out to the side to make his shoulders bulge in a pantomime of strength.
They passed the tents of archers where men sat outside, stringing bows and whittling arrows. One woman saw Twenty Quivers and shouted at him. He turned to listen. She beat her chest, pointed at her tent and hurled a tirade of harsh words at the ambassador.
"What is she saying?" Muller asked Hilgard.
"Her husband is sick or hurt, I think."
Twenty Quivers went inside the tent and spoke to someone inside. He came back to the opening of the tent and called out to the Fernland men.
"Come, see bad arrow."
The Fernlanders looked at one another briefly and approached the tent cautiously.
&
nbsp; Inside, a man lay on the floor, heavily bandaged. Between the bandages, angry patches of burned skin showed. It looked more like burns from a fire than the result of puncture wounds from arrows.
"Bad magic." Twenty Quivers spoke a few soothing words to the woman before they took their leave.
As they continued through the archers' camp they saw more men disfigured by burns, some fully recuperated, but scarred, and some still in bandages.
"I'm not liken' the looks a this," Bear whispered.
"If it be bad magic, ya reckon we kin help?" Smiles asked.
Bear stared at his friend. "Ain't no such thing as magic—good or bad. Only thing we kin do is get ourselves in hot water, tryin' ta help."
"Let's not be saying that too loud," Take said softly. "You never can tell who might be able to help and there's that gold reward to consider."
"Gold, smold!" Bear said, angrily. "Don't you be volunteerin' us fer something's gonna put us in bandages like them other blokes."
They passed the last tent and looked out over an open area that appeared to be an improvised archery range.
They watched while several archers practiced hitting bits of charcoal with their arrows while riding at full gallop. Others seemed to be testing large bows using arrows with bamboo cylinders attached. As they watched, a loud noise rang out and a bush exploded.
"That good arrow." Twenty Quivers rode toward the lucky archer.
Another bush exploded, closer, making them all jerk around nervously.
Suddenly, a sharp bang sounded followed by horrendous screams. A man ran from the field and plunged his face and arms in a trough of water.
The Fernland men stood bewildered and frightened by what they had just witnessed.
"That bad arrow," Twenty Quivers shouted as he ran to help the wounded man.
Muller the Spy ran in the opposite direction to check the remains of the archer's demolished bow. The other Fernland men followed him, careful not to go too close to any bamboo cylinders.
"What do you suppose is in those cylinders?" Take asked Muller.
Muller inspected a bit of the blackened bow. "I don't know, but I do know those cylinders are why you're here, and for that matter, why I'm here as well. We have to find out how they are made. Once they learn to control the explosions..."
Princess Electra Book 2 Out of Barburee Page 10